Named tests
CogAT: Cognitive Abilities Test
In short
The CogAT (Cognitive Abilities Test) is a group ability test from Riverside Insights that schools give from kindergarten through grade 12. Form 8 measures reasoning in three domains: verbal, quantitative and nonverbal. Its Standard Age Score has a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16, so CogAT numbers run slightly wider than Wechsler IQs.
Want your own number? The test is 25 visual puzzles, about 12 minutes, no sign-up.
What the CogAT measures
CogAT Form 8 measures reasoning in three domains (Riverside: CogAT Form 8):
| Domain | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Verbal | Reasoning with words and language |
| Quantitative | Reasoning with numbers and quantities |
| Nonverbal | Reasoning with shapes and figures |
The test is built in levels by grade. The primary Levels 5/6 to 8 cover grades K to 2 and use picture-based items, and the upper levels cover grades 3 to 12 (Riverside: CogAT Form 8).
Format and timing
Timing depends on the level (Riverside: CogAT testing times):
| Levels | Grades | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 5/6 to 8 | K to 2 | Not timed |
| 9 to 17/18 | 3 to 12 | 10 minutes for each of 9 subtests, 90 minutes total |
Grades come from Riverside's Form 8 overview (Riverside: CogAT Form 8). If your child is taking it, ask the school how it schedules the sessions.
How CogAT scores work
The main CogAT score is the Standard Age Score (SAS), a normalized standard score with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 16 (Riverside: CogAT score descriptions). The Wechsler tests and the Stanford-Binet 5 use 15 (Wikipedia: Intelligence quotient), so the same percentile prints as a slightly bigger number on the CogAT once you move away from 100.
| Higher than about (same-age students) | CogAT SAS (SD 16) | IQ scale (SD 15) |
|---|---|---|
| 50% | 100 | 100 |
| 84% | 116 | 115 |
| 97.7% | 132 | 130 |
| 99.87% | 148 | 145 |
The rows are normal-curve math at one, two and three standard deviations above the mean. You can convert any percentile on both scales with the percentile-to-IQ converter.
How schools and Mensa use the scores
The National Association for Gifted Children notes that many consider children in the top 10 percent relative to a national or local norm a good guide for identification and services (NAGC). Any cutoff for a program is set by the program, not by the CogAT itself. For background, see giftedness.
American Mensa lists a Composite SAS of 132 on the CogAT as a qualifying score (American Mensa: qualifying scores). On SD 16 that is two standard deviations above the mean. The Mensa admission page lists other accepted tests.
CogAT vs other school tests
The OLSAT 8 also covers verbal, nonverbal and quantitative content and reports a School Ability Index. The NNAT3 covers nonverbal reasoning only. All three can be given to groups, unlike an individual test such as the WISC-V.
Retesting and practice effects
Familiarity with a test raises scores. Across studies, retaking a cognitive ability test raised scores by about a quarter of a standard deviation on average, roughly 4 IQ points, and more when the same form was reused (Hausknecht et al., 2007). On the CogAT's SD 16 scale, a quarter of a standard deviation is about 4 points too. If a child's score rises a few points on a second sitting, practice alone could explain it.
How to practice
CogAT items are not public, and we do not reproduce them. Our free number sequence test and analogy puzzles offer original quantitative and nonverbal problems. They are not CogAT items, and no IQ Octopus score predicts a CogAT score.
IQ Octopus is not affiliated with or endorsed by Riverside Insights or any other publisher named here. Test names are used only to identify and describe the tests. Our free practice tests are not copies of any published test, and no score on IQ Octopus predicts a score on another test.
Try one · Pattern Recognition
Which tile comes next?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The missing tile shows four outlined diamonds (option 3).
How to solve it
- Compare neighboring tiles and name what changes each time.
- From tile to tile, one more diamond is added.
- The fill cycles outline, hatched and solid, then starts again.
- Everything else stays the same from tile to tile.
- The last tile shows three solid diamonds. Apply each change once more.
- So the missing tile shows four outlined diamonds.
That was 1 puzzle. The full test has 25.
Sources
- Riverside Insights. Cognitively Speaking: Introducing CogAT Form 8. info.riversideinsights.com/hubfs/Cog%20Speakings/Cognitively%20Speaking%20-%20Introducing%20CogAT%20Form%208.pdf
- Riverside Insights online help. CogAT testing times. onlinehelp.riversideinsights.com/Help/Elevate2SHP/Topics/011_Plan_Your_CogAT_Testing_Program/CogAT_Testing_Times.htm
- Riverside Insights DataManager help. CogAT score descriptions. info.riversideinsights.com/datamanager-onlinehelp/cogat-score-descriptions
- American Mensa. Qualifying test scores. www.us.mensa.org/join/testscores/qualifying-test-scores/
- National Association for Gifted Children. What is giftedness? (accessed 2026-10-21). nagc.org/what-is-giftedness
- Intelligence quotient. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_quotient
- Hausknecht, J. P., Halpert, J. A., Di Paolo, N. T., & Moriarty Gerrard, M. O. (2007). Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(2), 373-385. doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.2.373